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Mayor Quick to Veto Inclusionary Regs

By Matt Adams

San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer wasted little time following through on his pledge to veto the Inclusionary Zoning Ordinance adopted by the City Council on its second reading on September 17th. The Council voted 5-4 to adopt the ordinance that would mandate builders set aside 10% of its units as subsidized housing or pay an in-lieu fee of $22 per square foot. The city’s own economic analysis as well as 3rd party evaluation of the plan concluded that overall housing production would drop and housing costs increase as a consequence.

Efforts at a compromise between Council President Georgette Gomez who pushed for the ordinance and a coalition that includes the BIA proved futile prompting the Mayor to take action. The Mayor cited the chronic housing shortage in his Veto Message of September 19th concluding that “adding expensive government regulation on top of a housing market with rising development costs will make it exceedingly difficult to meet San Diego’s increasing housing supply needs.” A City Council veto override appears unlikely since the measure passed with just 5 votes and 6 are needed to override the veto. The Council now has 30 days to take action otherwise the veto stands.